PE26 Accessibility and Accommodations

Description for PE26 Accessibility and Accommodations.

Albuquerque Public Schools is committed to ensuring equal access to all APS programs, services, facilities, and activities for any student, staff, family member, applicant, community member, or other person with disabilities.

Generally, APS will provide reasonable accommodations to any individual with a disability in order for that individual to access APS programs, services, activities, and facilities. This procedural directive covers service animals, alternative format materials for the community, services for the Deaf and hard of hearing community, and the steps to request physical access modifications to an APS facility. Any other accommodations needed by an individual but not covered in this procedural directive, may reach out to the APS ADA Coordinator.

Any individual who feels they have been denied access due to their disability or experienced discrimination or harassment on the basis of a disability, may file a complaint with Equal Opportunity Services.

APS ensures our programs, services, activities and facilities are accessible to all:

• By making facilities readily accessible and usable by persons with disabilities.
• By providing signage with the international symbol for accessibility.
• By providing Braille signage where a need exists.
• By providing interpreters or telephonic devices to aid individuals with hearing impairments.
• By providing accommodation procedures for students and employees seeking reasonable accommodation.
• By providing grievance procedures for disability discrimination complaints that incorporate due process standards and provide prompt and equitable resolution of complaints.
• By providing reasonable modifications or adjustments in the work environment that enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job.
• By providing reasonable modifications to the job application process when requested by a qualified candidate with a disability.

Service Animals

Service animals are permitted in APS facilities and may be used in school environments and for off-campus school activities. Community members may have their service animal with them throughout APS anywhere that community member is allowed to be. A service animal is an animal that has been trained to perform specific tasks or work for an individual with a disability. 

Students seeking to use service animals should develop a Section 504 Plan or Individual Education Plan, as appropriate, to identify needed reasonable accommodations and other issues relating to use of a service animal. Students and their parents/guardians should contact their school’s 504 Coordinator to start the process.

APS employees must work through the ADA Coordinator to develop and plan and identify reasonable accommodations relating to use of a service animal.

Albuquerque Public Schools staff shall adhere to the following guidelines when interacting with service animals of any individual on APS property:

• A service animal shall not be required to be wearing any type of identifying clothing or tags.
• Staff may require verification that the immunization records are up to date.
• Staff shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person’s disability, but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. Those inquiries shall be limited to the following questions:
• Is the animal required because of a disability?
• What work or task is the animal trained to perform? (A “yes” to the 1st and a simple explanation to the 2nd is enough.)
• Staff shall not require documentation or proof that the animal is a service animal. The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education’s Office for Civil Rights has published guidelines that prohibit staff from asking any additional questions or requiring proof of training.
• APS may disallow access to a service animal on campus if, and only if:
• The animal is out of control and the animal’s handler does not take effective action to control it; or
• The animal is not housebroken.
• The animal shall be under the control of its handler. In most cases this means a harness, leash, or other tether. There are some exceptions.
• A service animal shall not include pets, emotional support animals, comfort animals or therapy animals, which do not perform task(s) related to an individual’s disability.

The revised “Service Animal Act” prohibits a person from misrepresenting an animal as a Service Animal and provides penalties.

Web and online accessibility

APS is committed to supporting an online environment that is accessible to all members of the public. This includes individuals with disabilities, users of assistive devices, and the APS community. To achieve this, APS utilizes a number of tools to make all content on our websites compliant with the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA.

APS websites are intended to be compatible with screen readers, have images with descriptions for alternative text, videos with captions, content with greater readability, and checked for visual contrast.

Process for modifications needed for physical access:

1. The site administrator will identify a need for physical access to a specific building, office, restroom, program, or other area of the site by a specific student, parent, employee, or community member with a disability. This must include:
1. verification that the person has a legitimate need for access to that area on a continuing basis
2. other reasonable accommodations were considered but were not sufficient to meet the needs of the individual
2. The site administrator will make every reasonable effort to accommodate the person with a disability by means already available within the site.
3. If on-site accommodations appear inadequate (following efforts described in “2” above), the administrator will submit a Physical Access Request form to the attention of the Physical Access Specialist, located at the Facilities Planning and Construction Department.
4. Following receipt of a Physical Access Request form, the request will be reviewed by the Physical Access Specialist. The Physical Access Specialist and/or Physical Access Committee member will visit the site and explore the needs and options for a solution.
5. The Physical Access Committee will meet to suggest a solution, based on information gathered by the Physical Access Specialist.
1. Suggested solutions such as assistive technology devices; acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, training, or job modifications will be handled through the appropriate channels.
2. If there is a need for physical modification, the Physical Access Specialist will submit the request to Maintenance and Operations or Special Projects for an estimate.
1. Maintenance and Operations or Special Projects will complete a cost estimate and provide the Physical Access Specialist with that information.
3. The Physical Access Specialist will complete the appropriate work order forms.
4. Approval for remodeling will be obtained from the Physical Access Specialist or designee if the estimate does not exceed $2,500. If the proposed project cost exceeds $2,500, approval must be obtained from the Physical Access District Committee.
5. Maintenance and Operations or Special Projects will be directed to proceed with the remodeling.
6. Records of requests and the status of those requests will be maintained by the Facilities Planning and Construction Office or the Physical Access Specialist.

Administrative Position:

• Deputy Superintendent of Leadership and Learning 
• Chief Academic Officer

Department Director:

• Senior Director, Risk Management
• Executive Director, Communications and Engagement
• Executive Director, Facilities Design and Construction
• Director, Equal Opportunity Services and Title IX

References:

Legal Cross Ref.:

• Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.§ 1400 et seq.
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.
• New Mexico Human Rights Act, NMSA 1978 § 28-1-1 et seq.

Board Policy Cross Ref.:

 

Procedural Directive Cross Ref.:

• PJ30 Non-Discrimination for Students: Gender Identity and Expression

Forms:

• NSBA/NEPN Classification: EBA

Introduced: December 20, 2024

 

 

This page was last updated on: December 20, 2024.